China-India contemporary relations: Geopolitical challenges to the small states in South Asia

Background: The two Asian giants, India and China, have shown unprecedented growth and development in recent decades. As neighbours, the bilateral relationship between the two countries has experienced turbulences, even wars, but their trade and economic relations date centuries back. These characteristics of cooperation and conflict between India and China as they aspire to become major powers globally have tuned up the competitiveness, which has further engaged them with collaborations in some areas, conflicts and contestations in others. This unique relation with antagonistic cooperation has implications for South Asian states, including India and other small states. Methods: Thus, realising the research gap of future repercussions on the region and hypothesising that the contemporary China-India relations not only have consequences on each other but also brings challenges to the small states in South Asia, the paper primarily focuses on current China-India relations and the geopolitical challenges to the South Asian small states. Hence, it is crucial to comprehend ‘What is the nature and pattern of contemporary China-India relations?’ and ‘What are the geopolitical challenges to the small states because of this unforeseen relation?’ The study revisits the historical relationship between India and China to examine the trend of collaborations and contestations between the two. The paper also discusses the increasing forays of China into South Asia and the deepening US-India relationship to counter those looming Chinese influences. Results: Notably, the research identifies the geopolitical challenges for other South Asian small states because of those fluctuations in the relationship and recommends strategies for the small states in South Asia to avert the increasing geopolitical challenges, generalising the challenges for the small states evolving due to the major power politics in different parts of the world.

Regarding Political Relations of Abusayid Mirzo with the Ruler of Aqquyuns

This article informs about political activities of Sultan Abusayid, the ruler of Temurids Empire, his struggle for the throne of Samarqand, military, political and embassy relations on the issue of Western Iran and Azerbaijan regions with representatives of Aqquyuns dynasty Hasanbek and Qaraquyuns Jahanshah. The role and importance of the territories of Western Iran and Azerbaijan[1] in the Temurid kingdom were both politically and economically important. The essence of the Sultanate's military-political relations with local principalities and various ethnic groups in these regions are not only to control Western Iran and Azerbaijan, but also to be seen from time to time as a place where conflicting political and economic interests of major powers should collide.

Air Power in the Age of Primacy

Since the end of the Cold War the United States and other major powers have wielded their air forces against much weaker state and non-state actors. In this age of primacy, air wars have been contests between unequals and characterized by asymmetries of power, interest, and technology. This volume examines ten contemporary wars where air power played a major and at times decisive role. Its chapters explore the evolving use of unmanned aircraft against global terrorist organizations as well as more conventional air conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and against ISIS. Air superiority could be assumed in this unique and brief period where the international system was largely absent great power competition. However, the reliable and unchallenged employment of a spectrum of manned and unmanned technologies permitted in the age of primacy may not prove effective in future conflicts.

Strategies of Sino-American Rivalry in Africa: From 2000 to COVID-19

In this article it is argued that Sino-American rivalry in Africa is based on competing strategies utilized by each power to enhance their interests and bilateral ties on the continent, as well to try and outdo each other in image projection and overall influence expansion. These strategies of rivalry and power enhancement revolve around promoting close military ties and transactions on the continent; the framing of the continent in the language of securitization and strategic importance; and the perennial utilization of discourse or narrative that frames the other as detrimental to the interests of African states. These strategies of containing the others power preponderance or influence have expanded to include what is now referred to as vaccine diplomacy on the part of China, and during the Trump Administration the raising of loud alarm bells of China trying to dispossess Africa through what could be referred to as the debt trap. The consequences of these competing strategies enhance the following: authoritarianism in some key African states; increased jihadism in some regions of Africa as a reaction to the presence of the two major powers on the continent; weapons implicated in state violence and war crimes; and less money available for development as a result of resources being diverted to militarization. The ongoing pandemic will add another dimension to the US - China rivalry as both powers try to project an image of being the most concerned about Africa on as it relates to combating the virus.

Looking Up from Down Under: New Zealand’s best options amid China’s rise and the U.S. foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific

<p>With the rise of China and the United States (US) foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific meeting in international space, small states like New Zealand have decisions to make about how to manage their balancing act between the two major powers. This research is the result of an extensive literature review of the available material coming from international relations scholars, diplomats, governments, and news media. The focus of this thesis is on the options a small state like New Zealand has amid China’s rise and the US foreign policy ‘pivot’ to the Asia-Pacific since late-2011, but some attention has been given to how the US rebalance has been rolled out and New Zealand’s position therein. The findings point to a spectrum of options available to New Zealand which goes between choosing a China-centric economic focused set of foreign policies on one end, and backing US interests both in economic and security terms on the other end. It is clear New Zealand has chosen a middle ground and has adopted a hedging strategy designed to optimize its relationship with both the US and China. The task ahead for New Zealand is to use what influence it has to foster an environment where the likelihood of conflict between the two major powers is reduced without giving up too much independence in foreign policy decision making.</p>

Looking Up from Down Under: New Zealand’s best options amid China’s rise and the U.S. foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific

<p>With the rise of China and the United States (US) foreign policy rebalance to the Asia-Pacific meeting in international space, small states like New Zealand have decisions to make about how to manage their balancing act between the two major powers. This research is the result of an extensive literature review of the available material coming from international relations scholars, diplomats, governments, and news media. The focus of this thesis is on the options a small state like New Zealand has amid China’s rise and the US foreign policy ‘pivot’ to the Asia-Pacific since late-2011, but some attention has been given to how the US rebalance has been rolled out and New Zealand’s position therein. The findings point to a spectrum of options available to New Zealand which goes between choosing a China-centric economic focused set of foreign policies on one end, and backing US interests both in economic and security terms on the other end. It is clear New Zealand has chosen a middle ground and has adopted a hedging strategy designed to optimize its relationship with both the US and China. The task ahead for New Zealand is to use what influence it has to foster an environment where the likelihood of conflict between the two major powers is reduced without giving up too much independence in foreign policy decision making.</p>

First Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918-1921), a Result of the Changes in the International System

The independence of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia was announced on May 26, 1918 by the Georgian Social-Democrats, who were preaching against nationalism and the creation of a Georgian state years prior, therefore, it is evident at first sight, that major international events of the 1910s played a crucial role in the establishing of an independent Georgia. This research paper aims to examine the foreign factors that made the Georgian political elite change their minds and resulted in the creation of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. First, the paper will analyze the internal political situation in Georgia and the attitudes of the Georgian political elite, then the policies and attitudes of three major powers – Russia, Turkey and Germany, towards Georgia will be examined. The author has presented the reflections of famous Georgian researches on the topic and some archive sources as well.

Norm Contestation and Normative Transformation in Global Peacebuilding Order(s): The Cases of China, Japan, and Russia

Focusing on the disconnect between mainstream “liberal” peacebuilding and the discourses and practices of “new” and “alternative” peacebuilding actors, this article develops a nonbinary approach that goes beyond norm localization to capture the ways in which major powers influence the nature, content, and direction of normative change. Within the context of their bilateral and multilateral contributions to the “global peacebuilding order,” what forms and types of interventions are conceived by these actors as peacebuilding? How, in turn, has the substantive content of their peacebuilding practices (re)shaped norms and narratives in international peacebuilding efforts? Based on extensive empirical research of the peacebuilding policies and activities of China, Japan, and Russia, this article analyzes the way in which these “top-top” dynamics between norms embedded in the liberal narrative and major powers with competing visions can influence peacebuilding as practiced and pursued in host states. In doing so, it brings together research on global norms and peacebuilding studies and offers a simple yet analytically powerful tool to better understand the evolution of global peacebuilding order(s) and the role of rising powers in (re)shaping global governance.

Securitization of the Troubled Afghan Peace Process and the Role of Pakistan

Following the 9/11 attacks, the national security policies — notably of the Western nations — have taken a fundamental shift towards viewing vulnerable and unstable states, such as Afghanistan, as security threats. The strategic interference of the United States and its allies, for state-building in Afghanistan, not only failed in achieving its intended outcomes but also brought untold suffering and severe repercussions to the Afghan people. The major powers involved in the post-9/11 war against terror in Afghanistan — particularly the United States — had to bear heavy costs in terms of capital, materials, and lives. Being a neighbor of Afghanistan and a responsible state committed to peace in the region, Pakistan has made genuine and consistent efforts to promote a peace process that is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led, in order to bring sustainable peace and stability to Afghanistan. Using the post 9/11 U.S. mission as an example, this article analyzes how the securitization of development has affected the peace process in Afghanistan. The securitization theory of the Copenhagen School is used as a basis to explain the dynamics of the peace process (led by the United States) with the Taliban.